Federal Aviation Administration whistleblowers testified Thursday on Capitol Hill after major airlines were allowed to take to the skies without required safety checks.

Some inspectors say the FAA has a "cozy relationship" with the airline industry and is compromising consumer safety.

Now, members of Congress are putting the group under the microscope.

This came after four major airlines were forced to ground planes because of maintenance concerns.

FAA inspector, Charalambe "Bobby" Boutris has been tracking the problem for years.

"I'm here to report that more than one FAA inspector, along with the FAA management have been looking the other way for years," he said. "This should have been obvious. I was the only maintenance inspector that kept finding and raising the safety concerns since 2003.

Boutris said he raised questions about safety at Southwest Airlines 38 times.

It wasn't until he went outside the agency that the FAA took action.

The airline flew an estimated 200,000 passengers on more than 1400 flights before checks were done.

Cracks were found in six planes.

Two employees involved in the Southwest situation have been disciplined by the FAA.

United, Delta and American Airlines have also grounded parts of their fleets because aircrafts weren't properly maintained.